Father, who is both a heir and a descendant, is still biased; the bound system has gone berserk.

Old Duan struggled desperately, refusing to swallow. The two servants who were torturing her were brought over from the Ministry of Justice by Hai Qiongyan. They were naturally skilled at dealing with disobedient prisoners.

Without any mercy, they stuffed the True Word Pill into Old Duan's mouth. Before the two could force her to swallow it, the pill had already transformed into a stream of heat and flowed into her stomach.

A look of surprise flashed across Old Duan's eyes, and he felt inexplicably flustered.

"What Truth-Telling Pill? I think it's just a bunch of nonsense. Hai Qiongyan, you don't actually believe this thing works, do you?"

Old Duan made a sarcastic remark, his tone fierce but his heart filled with cowardice.

Hai Qiongyan said coldly, "Whether it's a lie or not, we'll find out in a moment."

After speaking, he looked at Ying Yufu and asked, "Princess Anguo, when will this True Word Pill take effect?"

Ying Yufu said, "That's fine now. Lord Hai, please ask whatever you wish."

A hint of surprise flashed in Hai Qiongyan's eyes. He gave the registrar next to him a look, signaling him to start recording.

Haiqiong sat behind the table, coldly glancing at Old Duan across from her. Old Duan burst into laughter, "Don't you all think you're hilarious? Hahaha..."

"Old Duan, where did you get those harmful Chihuo Gu?"

Old Duan was about to say a few more sarcastic remarks when, unexpectedly, she blurted out, "It was Jinlang who gave it to me!"

Upon hearing this, not only was Hai Qiongyan stunned, but Old Duan herself also widened her eyes, her eyes filled with terror.

"What happened? What just happened to me...?"

A chill ran through Old Duan's heart.

A glint flashed in Hai Qiongyan's eyes, and she asked sharply, "Duan family, who is Jinlang?"

Old Madam Duan tried desperately to shut up, but her mouth seemed to have a mind of its own and disobeyed her:

"Jin Lang is indeed Jin Lang. He is the best man in the world to me, a hundred thousand times better than Hai Chaoyun. Back then, if it weren't for Jin Lang, how could I have schemed against Hai Chaoyun?"

Hai Qiongyan was furious and asked again, "Why would he help you plot against my father?"

Old Duan's eyes widened in terror, and she blurted out uncontrollably, "Of course, it's to find a high-ranking official father for the child in my womb."

We went through a round of selections among the officials and finally chose Hai Chaoyun.

Hahaha, that idiot Hai Chaoyun actually thought something had happened between us. Little did he know, he was just under the influence of a sleeping potion.

After the incident, he had no choice but to take me into his household. But how could my child remain an illegitimate child for life?

My daughter is destined to be Empress! If that bastard Hai Qiongzhang can be Empress, why can't my daughter?

"Duan, you—" Hai Qiongyan was furious. He never expected that the interrogation about Jinlang would lead to Qiongzhang.

He glanced at the Crown Prince with concern.

The Crown Prince's expression changed slightly, and he angrily said, "Duan, how dare you insult my mother?"

Hai Qiongyan was getting anxious, but Duan Shi was incredibly forthcoming and spoke without reservation. She said:

"Hahaha, Your Highness, you don't know yet, do you? Hai Qiongzhang isn't the Hai family's biological daughter at all. Her origins are unknown; she's just an orphan the Hai family took in back then!"

"The Duan family!" Hai Qiongyan's face was extremely ugly.

The crown prince blinked and looked at Hai Qiongyan.

Hai Qiongyan glanced at the Crown Prince, then guiltily turned her face away.

it is true.

Not only was the Crown Prince shocked, but even Ying Yufu's eyes widened in disbelief.

[Little one, Little one, what on earth is going on? How could Empress Yuan not be the Hai family's biological daughter?]

[Host, don't worry, the truth will be revealed soon. Be prepared, the Crown Prince's identity might cause some trouble.]

Xiao Dian had actually learned to keep things a secret, which made Ying Yufu feel increasingly anxious.

The Crown Prince also overheard Ying Yufu and Xiao Dian's conversation, and his heart was also filled with turmoil.

He never imagined that there would be any problems with his background.

Does Father Emperor know about all this?

"Uncle..."

The prince called out with difficulty.

Hai Qiongyan sighed and had no choice but to face the Crown Prince, saying earnestly, "Your Highness, we did not intentionally hide this from you."

However, on the one hand, we genuinely regard your mother as family, and on the other hand, it's because of your mother's true identity... that's why we haven't brought this up.

"Rest assured, your father knows about your mother's background, and your mother herself knows it too. The Hai family has not concealed anything in this matter."

"What exactly is Hai Qiongzhang's background?" Old Madam Duan asked from the side.

"You're a prisoner, how dare you ask us questions!" Ying Yufu said irritably.

"Why can't I ask? Jinlang asked me to try and find out Hai Qiongzhang's true background many times, but your Hai family has never treated me as one of their own and has never trusted me. For so many years, I have been unable to find out."

Even Jinlang was starting to blame me. What exactly is Hai Qiongzhang's true background?

Hai Qiongyan glanced at the Crown Prince, then turned coldly to Old Madam Duan and said, "Madam Duan, you will never know this until you die."

"Duan, are you saying that nothing happened between you and me back then, right?"

Just then, Grand Tutor Hai slowly walked in, his eyes like a candle flame suddenly brightening, staring intently at Old Duan.

Old Duan didn't want him to feel comfortable, so she wanted to tell him a lie to provoke him.

But when he opened his mouth, he said, "That's right, we used a sleeping potion on you, then stripped you naked and lay down with me."

As for the person I truly enjoyed with at that time, it was actually Jinlang.

Old Duan looked quite pleased with himself as he said this.

Hai Taifu's eyes lit up with joy. "That's wonderful, truly wonderful! I haven't done anything to betray Hua Xiang..."

Looking at him like this, Old Duan's eyes flashed with intense hatred and resentment. "Hai Chaoyun, in what way am I inferior to Hua Xiang?"

After I entered your household, I was gentle and attentive, trying my best to please you, but you never even glanced at me, leaving me to live a life of widowhood for so many years.

It's hateful that Jinlang is afraid you'll find out about our relationship, so he hasn't wanted to see me all these years. I've suffered so much..."

As Old Duan spoke, she suddenly burst into tears, feeling wronged.

Ying Yufu's lips twitched.

"Duan family, how many Chi Huo Gu are there? Who did you inoculate with this Gu?" Grand Tutor Hai asked.

Duan struggled frantically, but ultimately could not withstand the power of the True Word Pill.

She said, "There are four in total. One was given to that bitch Hua Xiang, one I had Ling Yao give to that bitch Hai Qiong Zhang, the third one, naturally, is for you, and the last one, Jin Lang told us to give to..."

The struggle in Duan's eyes intensified, her gaze filled with terror as she desperately resisted the effects of the True Word Pill.

Everyone stared intently at her. Hai Qiongyan shouted sternly, "Duan family, who did you give the last one to? Tell me now!"